Convoy (song) explained

Convoy
Cover:McCall - Convoy.jpg
Type:single
Artist:C. W. McCall
Album:Black Bear Road
B-Side:Long Lonesome Road
Released:November 1975
Recorded:1975
Genre:
Length:3:49
Label:MGM
Producer:
  • Don Sears
  • Chip Davis
Prev Title:Black Bear Road
Prev Year:1975
Next Title:There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)
Next Year:1976

"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall (a character co-created and voiced by Bill Fries, along with Chip Davis) that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US and is listed 98th among Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.[1] Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts[2] and one week at number one on the pop charts. The song went to number one in Canada as well, hitting the top of the RPM Top Singles Chart on January 24, 1976.[3] "Convoy" also peaked at number two in the UK. The song capitalized on the fad for citizens band (CB) radio. The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy, for which McCall rerecorded the song to fit the film's storyline.[4]

The song received newfound popularity with its use during the 2022 Freedom Convoy.[5] [6] [7] In a call with WRIF's Drew & Mike Show shortly before he died, Fries expressed enthusiasm over the Freedom Convoy's use of his song "only because his biggest hit [was] getting a second life."[8] [9]

Plot

The song consists of three types of interspersed dialogue: a simulated CB conversation with CB slang, the narration of the story, and the chorus. It is about a fictional trucker rebellion that drives from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States without stopping.[10] What they are protesting (other than the 55 mph speed limit, then recently introduced in response to the 1973 oil crisis) is shown by lines such as "we tore up all of our swindle sheets" (CB slang for log sheets used to record driving hours; the term referred to the practice of falsifying entries to show that drivers were getting proper sleep when, in reality, the drivers were driving more than the prescribed number of hours before mandatory rest) and "left 'em sittin' on the scales" (CB slang for US Department of Transportation weigh stations on Interstates and highways to verify the weight of the truck and the drivers' hours of working through log books). The song also refers to toll roads: "We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."[11]

The conversation is between "Rubber Duck", "Pig Pen", and "Sodbuster", primarily through Rubber Duck's side of the conversation. The narration and CB chatter are by McCall.[12]

At the beginning of the song, Rubber Duck is the "front door" (the leader) of three semi-trailer trucks (tractor and semi-trailer) when he realizes they have a convoy. Following the Rubber Duck, Pig Pen brings up the rear (the "back door") in a "'Jimmy' haulin' hogs" (a truck powered by a two-stroke Detroit Diesel engine-A.K.A. Screamin' Jimmy, after Detroit Diesel's then-owner General Motors[13] -with a livestock semi-trailer loaded with live pigs). The two other trucks are a Kenworth pulling logs, and a cab-over Peterbilt with a "reefer" (refrigerated trailer) attached; the lyrics are unclear which one of the two the Rubber Duck was driving (the sequel song "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" more strongly implies he indeed is driving the Peterbilt,[14] which would be consistent with McCall's previous songs and commercials portraying him as a bread truck driver[15]).

The convoy begins at night on June 6 on "I-one-oh" (I-10) just outside "Shakeytown" (Los Angeles, California), as the Rubber Duck informs the two trucks that "it's clean clear to Flagtown" (Flagstaff, Arizona) and that he is going to "put the hammer down" ("hammer" being the accelerator pedal) as the convoy plans to "cross the USA." By the time they get to "Tulsatown" (Tulsa, Oklahoma), there are 85 trucks and the "bears / Smokeys" (state police, specifically the highway patrol, who commonly wear the same campaign hats as the United States Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear) have set up a road block on the cloverleaf interchange and have a "bear in the air" (police helicopter). The convoy moves onto Interstate 44, and by the time they reach "Chi-town" (Chicago, Illinois), the convoy—now 1,001 vehicles strong—includes a driver with the handle "Sodbuster", a "suicide jockey" (truck hauling explosives, in this case dynamite), and "11 long-haired friends of Jesus" in a "chartreuse (Volkswagen) Microbus". Rubber Duck directs the Microbus behind the dynamite truck for divine protection. Meanwhile, the police have called out "reinforcements from the 'Illi-noise' (Illinois) National Guard" and have filled the "chicken coops" (weigh stations) in an effort to stall and/or break up the convoy. Rubber Duck tells the convoy to disregard the toll as they head for the state border and continue east toward the New Jersey shore, crashing through the toll gate at 98mph, well above the national 55 mph limit in place at the time, in the process.

The song's running gag has Rubber Duck complaining about the smell of the hogs that Pig Pen is hauling. He repeatedly asks the offending driver to "back off" (slow down). By the end, Pig Pen has fallen so far back, when Rubber Duck is in New Jersey, Pig Pen got detached from the convoy between Tulsa and Chicago and ended up in Omaha, Nebraska (a reference to the headquarters of American Gramaphone, which released the song, as well as Bozell & Jacobs, who created the C. W. McCall character; Omaha is infamous for its slaughterhouses, which a truck with cargo like the hogs hauled by Pig Pen would likely head to).

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–1976)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] 1
Austrian Top 40[17] 19
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[18] 4
Canadian RPM Top Singles[19] 1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks[20] 13
German Singles Chart[21] 43
French Singles Chart[22] 76
Irish Singles Chart[23] 2
New Zealand Singles Chart[24] 1
UK Singles Chart[25] 2
US Cash Box Top 100[26] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[27] [28] 10
Canada[29] 2
New Zealand[30] 18
UK29
US Billboard Hot 100[31] 57
US Cash Box[32] 38

Sequel

McCall's "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" is the sequel to "Convoy".[33] In this continuation, the convoy leaves the U.S. and travels around the world, through Britain, France, West and East Germany, the USSR, Japan, and Australia.

Remakes and covers

Paul Brandt version

The song was covered in 2004 by Paul Brandt.[38] The video features Brandt and fellow country singers Jason McCoy and Aaron Lines as well as then Calgary Flames defencemen Mike Commodore and Rhett Warrener as truckers and George Canyon, of Nashville Star fame, as the highway patrol officer. The video was seen on CMT in both Canada and the United States. It was filmed at CFB/ASU Wainwright on Airfield 21. The song appears on the 2004 album This Time Around.

Brandt also recorded a Christmas version called "Christmas Convoy", which appears on the 2006 holiday album A Gift. In this version, the convoy helps Santa deliver his toys after a bad storm.

External links

Notes and References

  1. June 1, 2014 . 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time . . 30 October 2017.
  2. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research. 220.
  3. Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2011-09-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121020044329/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4077a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=kjerdnvbvl3a8p4jfufutrc7u6 . 2012-10-20 . dead .
  4. Web site: Country Singer C.W. McCall of 'Convoy' Fame Dies at 93 . 2023-05-05 . Yahoo Sports . April 4, 2022 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Barnett . Betsy . March 2, 2022 . We Got Us a Convoy: The Colorado Freedom Convoy Heads East on I70 on Thursday . April 12, 2022 . Kiowa County Independent.
  6. Unterberger . Andrew . April 4, 2022 . Forever No. 1: C.W. McCall's 'Convoy' . Billboard . April 12, 2022.
  7. Web site: April 12, 2022 . Country music star C.W. McCall dies at 93 . April 12, 2022 . MSN.
  8. Web site: Dukes . Billy. 'Convoy' Singer C.W. McCall Is in Hospice . 2023-03-24 . Taste of Country . February 17, 2022 . en.
  9. Web site: Drew And Mike – February 9, 2022 – The Drew and Mike Show . February 10, 2022 . 2023-03-24 . en-US.
  10. News: Ochs . Meredith . 2017-06-06 . How A Trucker's Protest Anthem Became A '70s Hit . NPR . 2023-05-04.
  11. Web site: Moore . Addie . 2020-04-28 . How C.W. McCall's 'Convoy' Became a Cultural Phenomenon . 2023-05-05 . Wide Open Country . en-US.
  12. Unterberger . Andrew . 2022-04-04 . Forever No. 1: C.W. McCall's 'Convoy' . 2023-05-05 . Billboard . en-US.
  13. Web site: Jensen . James . Detroit Diesel - North American Diesel icon . Dieselduck.info.
  14. Web site: Round The World With The Rubber Duck . The Works of C.W. McCall : Rubber Duck . 2009-03-09 . TechRen Enterprises . https://web.archive.org/web/20090518050823/http://www.cw-mccall.com/works/rubber_duck/round_the_world_with_the_rubber_duck.html . 18 May 2009 . live . ...And them cab-over Petes don’t float. .
  15. Web site: Ligo . Joe . 2021-05-19 . The 1970s Trucking Craze Can Be Traced Back to a Regional TV Commercial for Bread . 2023-12-12 . The Drive . en.
  16. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1976. . 131 . . December 27, 1976 . January 11, 2022 .
  17. https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=C%2EW%2E+McCall&titel=Convoy&cat=s C.W. MCCALL - CONVOY - austriancharts.at
  18. Web site: RPM Country Playlist - January 17, 1976.
  19. Web site: RPM Top Singles - January 24, 1976.
  20. Web site: RPM Pop Music Playlist - January 17, 1976.
  21. https://germancharts.de/showitem.asp?interpret=C%2EW%2E+McCall&titel=Convoy&cat=s C.W. MCCALL - CONVOY - germancharts.de
  22. https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=C%2EW%2E+McCall&titel=Convoy&cat=s C.W. MCCALL - CONVOY - lescharts.com
  23. http://irish-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=C%2EW%2E+McCall&titel=Convoy&cat=s irishcharts.com - C.W. McCall - Convoy
  24. https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=C%2EW%2E+McCall&titel=Convoy&cat=s C.W. MCCALL - CONVOY - charts.nz
  25. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15634/cw-mccall/ CW MCCALL | full Official Chart History
  26. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 1/31/76. Tropicalglen.com. 30 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20181020001330/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19760131.html. 20 October 2018. dead.
  27. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1976. . 131 . . 27 December 1976 . 15 January 2022 .
  28. Web site: Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts) . Australian-charts.com . 2017-05-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160602084720/http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092 . 2016-06-02.
  29. Web site: Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977 . . . March 24, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319222559/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5173a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3 . March 19, 2016 . dead .
  30. Web site: The Official New Zealand Music Chart. THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
  31. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976. Musicoutfitters.com. 30 October 2017.
  32. Web site: Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1976. Tropicalglen.com. 30 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20181020004356/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html. 20 October 2018. dead.
  33. News: The Kingston Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) . 42 . February 18, 1977 . Christy . Richard . Record Reviews .
  34. Web site: The Bob Rivers Show with Bob Spike and Joe . 2011-10-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111023005042/http://www.bobrivers.com/#v8496 . 2011-10-23 .
  35. Web site: Sheeler and Sheeler: Car Phone . 2017-08-27.
  36. Web site: Álbumes originales de Mocedades: Amor de hombre . mocedades.com . 27 January 2022 . https://archive.today/20140824064831/http://www.mocedades.com/disco15_es.php . 24 August 2014 . dead.
  37. Web site: Album: Amor de hombre de Mocedades en Los40.com . 2014-08-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140827090258/http://www.los40.com/musica/album/amor-de-hombre/musica-album/1244326.aspx . 2014-08-27 .
  38. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r703300|pure_url=yes}} ''This Time Around'' – Paul Brandt]. Erlewine. Stephen Thomas. Allmusic. August 17, 2011.

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